PROLOGUE
She ran until her lungs burned.
Her footsteps echoed across the deserted rooftop, slipping against the rain-slick concrete as panic blurred everything before her.
Every breath scraped painfully through her throat, every heartbeat pounded louder than the storm gathering above. She didn't dare look back at first. She already knew someone was there. She could hear them.
Slow. Measured. Never hurried.
The footsteps behind her carried an unnerving confidence, as though whoever was following had no fear of losing their prey. They didn't need to run. They already knew exactly how this would end.
She stumbled near the edge of the rooftop, catching herself just before collapsing. Her chest rose and fell violently as she finally turned around.
The figure standing several meters away remained hidden beneath the darkness, their face impossible to make out. Only the silhouette of a school uniform and a pair of black gloves were visible beneath the dim security lights.
Fear tightened around her throat.
"You....why…." Her voice cracked before she could finish. "I won't do it. I swear... I'll never tell anyone. Please... just trust me this once…please..."
The figure remained silent.
A gust of cold wind swept across the rooftop, carrying with it the faint sound of laughter.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't mocking. If anything, it sounded amused.
"So what?" The voice was calm. "You do. or you don't." they smirked,"I don't care."
The girl felt every ounce of warmth leave her body.
The figure stepped closer. "I'd rather cut the bud before it blooms."
Her eyes widened. "N-no..."
She shook her head frantically, rubbing her hands together , begging for her life before her gaze landed at her escape route, making one desperate attempt to escape, throwing herself toward the only opening she could find.
Hands collided in the darkness. Fingers clawed at sleeves. Fabric tore beneath her nails as the two struggled dangerously close to the rooftop's edge.
For a brief second, she thought she had broken free.
Then she felt it.
A violent shove against her shoulder. The world vanished beneath her feet.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH !!!!"
She let out a loud painful scream, but it lasted only a heartbeat before gravity swallowed the sound whole.
The fall felt endless.
Cold air rushed past her as the lights of the school twisted into meaningless streaks above. Her body struck the pavement below with a deafening crack that echoed through the empty courtyard.
And then….silence followed.
Blood slowly spread beneath her shattered skull, seeping across the concrete in uneven streams while rain began to fall from the darkened sky. Tiny droplets landed softly against her face, washing crimson trails across pale skin that had already begun to lose its warmth.
Her eyes remained open.
Frozen.
Staring toward the rooftop where the figure still stood.
Even in death, her hand refused to loosen. Her fingers clung desperately to something she had torn away during the struggle, a small silver pendant, its delicate chain wrapped tightly around her bloodied fist.
For several moments, nothing moved.
Then another pair of footsteps approached. Polished school shoes stopped beside the body.
The newcomer looked down quietly, studying the lifeless girl without panic or horror. If anything, there was only detached curiosity, as though they had expected to find her there all along.
A moment later, the shoes turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Before sunrise, the campus was drowning in flashing blue and red lights.
Police vehicles crowded the entrance while yellow tape sealed off the courtyard. Officers hurried between reporters shouting questions over one another, cameras flashing relentlessly toward the school building looming above them.
"A student has been confirmed dead."
"Was it suicide? Or murder?"
"Witnesses claim several students were still inside the building after hours."
Black sedans rolled through the school gates one after another.
Students stepped out under police escort. Some couldn't stop crying. Some stared silently at the ground. Some looked angry. Others appeared strangely... unaffected.
One of them even smiled.
The detective standing near the courtyard watched each of them carefully before lowering his gaze to the evidence file resting on the hood of his car. A photograph of the victim lay on top, accompanied by several names, statements, and one small evidence bag containing the silver pendant recovered from her hand.
An officer approached quietly and stopped beside him. "The victim's identity has been confirmed."
The detective closed the folder without another glance. His eyes drifted toward the school building towering over the scene.
"What kind of place..." he murmured, "...turns children into this?"
Far above them, the empty rooftop remained silent.
Watching. Waiting.
As though the game had only just begun.
